One of the fastest things that I’ve had to learn as a business owner is that you can’t do things alone.
The cliche saying, “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” doesn’t sound so cliche when you find yourself in the thick of entrepreneurship struggling to keep up.
In fact, I’d argue that you need people in your corner to accomplish both – going fast AND going far.
In my experience as a business owner and practicing attorney (at the same time), if you want to keep your sanity and truly enjoy your work, finding help for certain areas of your business is an absolute must.
Without it, you’re likely to find yourself on a fast track to burnout and I’ll be the first to admit, that’s not a fun place to be.
When you start your business, you do it because you have a passion for something and you see a need that you can help solve. And when you’re first getting started, sure you might be able to manage things alone, but as your business starts to grow and you want to scale, finding the right people to help you get there is key.
The problem though is that many business owners, myself included, have trouble outsourcing. We love what we do and what we’ve built and it can sometimes be hard to trust other people with it. We might believe that we’re the only ones that can do it the right way.
And while I TOTALLY understand this hesitancy, I’ve also experienced firsthand the complete opposite. There are SO many great people out there who really will care about your business as much as you do and can be trusted with the work that you’re hiring them for.
That’s not to say there aren’t some bad apples out there too – of course there are. But when you find a good one, man is that a good feeling! That’s why when hiring independent contractors to help you in various parts of your business, it’s important that you take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your business along the way.
And the best way to do that is by… you guessed it: CONTRACTS!
Never ever ever start working with an independent contractor without having a legitimate contract in place. And always, always, always look for the following key clauses in the contract to make sure you’re fully protected.
5 Key Clauses To Include In Your Independent Contractor Agreements
Clearly Defined Scope of Work
A well-crafted contract spells out the exact tasks, deliverables and responsibilities of the independent contractor, which ensures that everyone is aligned on what is expected.
When you have this defined, you’re able to minimize misunderstandings, avoid scope creep and keep all of your boundaries intact!
Payment Terms
In addition to the scope of work details, the contract should also outline how much will be paid, when the payments are due and under what conditions.
This section of your contract provides a clear financial roadmap for both parties, reducing the chances of payment disputes.
Project Timeline
If you’re working with a contractor on a project basis, it’s important to include the specificities of the timeline of the project, including a start and end date, as well as any important project milestones.
These details will help with planning and ensure that time-sensitive tasks are completed as expected.
If you plan to be working with a contractor for an extended period of time with no designated end date, you want to make sure you include any information about how either party can exit the agreement if needed and how that needs to be navigated.
Quality Assurance
One of the reasons that outsourcing can feel scary as a business owner is because you want to know that the work being done is being done well and it can often feel like you are the only one capable of that.
This is a totally normal feeling, but it’s important to remember that just like YOU do something very specific, there are other professionals out there who do their very specific job as well and they’re extremely good at it!
But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a say in the work being presented to you. In your contract, through the quality assurance clause, you can specify quality standards or project milestones that must be met for payment to be released.
This provides an avenue for you to hold the contractor accountable for the quality of work and make sure that it meets your standards before ever being presented to your audience!
This alone can give you a TON of peace of mind when it comes to outsourcing in your business.
Intellectual Property Rights
One of the biggest questions that comes up for business owners hiring independent contractors is, “who owns the deliverables?”
And it’s a great question! This is why having an intellectual property rights clause in your contract is so key.
This part of your contract is especially important for creative or technical tasks that someone will be doing for you, such as content creation, video editing, etc.
The contract should always stipulate who owns the finished work and any intellectual property generated to prevent future disputes over ownership and usage rights.
Your One Stop Shop For Legal Education and Support
Overall, hiring independent contractors for help in your business is a great way to take some tasks off your plate and grow your business in a way that feels good to you.
Since it can be such a tough thing to navigate as a business owner though, I’ve dedicated the November issue of The Legalzine to this very topic!
ICYMI, The Legalzine is a monthly digital magazine designed to make legal compliance accessible, actionable, and fun for online entrepreneurs, coaches, and creative business owners.
In the November issue, you’ll learn and receive:
- The top 5 legal mistakes businesses make when hiring independent contractors
- How to know if you’re ready to add to your team
- Expert tips from the HR playbook of Paradigm Consulting
- The ingredients (aka clauses) that make up a perfect contract recipe
- How to keep the lines between employee and contractor from getting blurred
- News and resources to stay on top of hiring legalities
Each month covers a different legal topic and helps you put what you learn into real action to ensure that your business is truly protected from top to bottom!
Your subscription options include:
- Monthly Subscription ($40/month)
- Quarterly Subscription ($96/quarter – that’s $32/month + 1 month free per year!)
- Yearly Subscription ($288/year – that’s $29/month + 2 months free per year!)
